The Kremlin announced on Thursday that Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit China “very soon,” signalling another high-profile meeting between Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping amid shifting global power dynamics.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said preparations for the trip had already been completed, though he did not provide exact dates for the visit.
The announcement comes as U.S. President Donald Trump is in Beijing this week for a major summit with Xi focused on trade, Taiwan, Iran and broader strategic tensions between Washington and Beijing.
Putin and Xi have developed one of the closest geopolitical partnerships in recent years, meeting more than 40 times since Xi came to power.
Their most recent meeting took place in Beijing last September.
In February 2022, shortly before Russia launched its military operation in Ukraine, the two leaders signed what they described as a “no limits” strategic partnership, deepening political, economic and military coordination between Moscow and Beijing.
Since then, China has become Russia’s most important economic partner as Moscow faces Western sanctions and diplomatic isolation.
The upcoming Putin visit is expected to further underline the growing alignment between China and Russia at a time when both countries are increasingly positioning themselves as counterweights to U.S. influence in the global order.
(with inputs from Reuters)
